Spirit of Atlantis
by SMBBOOKS
Summary: Alternate Storyline For "Ghost In The Machine"
1. A Mystery Discovered

Author's Notes & Disclaimer– Elizabeth Weir belongs on Atlantis

Author's Notes & Disclaimer– Elizabeth Weir belongs on Atlantis. She needs to come home. I don't own anything, no offense to the cast, crew or creators of the show. I just need to find a way to bring Elizabeth home in a way that I think, honors the character. This story idea came to me when I saw the very first brief spoilers for "Ghost In The Machine."

Special thanks goes to **Suzotchka**, fearless leader of the SEW Crew and my friend. She beta'ed this story for me and helps keep the momentum going!

And, special thanks go to the **Sparky thread at GW** who helps feed the muse on a regular basis. **Long live Elizabeth! Sparky is eternal!**

**CHAPTER ONE – A Mystery Discovered**

"Sheppard, what's your ETA?"

"Teyla and I just left the mainland. We'll be there in twenty minutes. What's the problem, Rodney?" John nudged the jumper, causing it to pick up speed. Rodney didn't sound worried, but considering what they had been through in the last year and half, getting back to Atlantis quicker seemed a wise move.

"Don't panic. We've picked up an unusual energy reading in one of the unexplored areas of the city and finally got a lock on its location. It's a room that doesn't show up on the city schematics, so we're excited to get in there and check it out."

John sighed. Teyla's visit with her people had taken all day. The remaining Athosians, once they'd been rescued with Teyla and her newborn son, had found a safe location on the mainland to make a small settlement. He was tired and in no mood to play "gene boy" for one of Rodney's research missions.

"Rodney, can this wait until tomorrow? It's been a long day, I was looking forward to a little R&R when I got back." He sent a quick, apologetic look over to Teyla. She, however, wasn't listening, focusing instead on softly singing little Katel to sleep.

"Sorry, Colonel. That's the interesting part. The only person, it seems, who can open this room is you."

"Come off it McKay, I'm not the only one with the gene."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." John could hear Rodney's sarcasm dripping through the radio. "It isn't that simple."

Sighing, John thought, '_It never is'._ "Okay, so why does it have to be me?"

Rodney actually sounded excited as he replied. "Because. The room security setting has been genetically encoded."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"What that means, is that the room requires a unique genetic code before it will allow anyone to access it."

A cold chill ran down John's spine. "The access panel has been genetically coded with my DNA? How in the hell is that possible?"

"No idea. It's going to be fun figuring that one out, huh?"

John nudged the jumper even faster. "Remind me to smack you upside the head when I get there, Rodney."

"Right. Just hurry up, will ya?"


	2. A Surprise Reunion

**CHAPTER TWO – A Surprise Reunion **

Once they returned to Atlantis, Teyla delivered Katel to his Athosian nanny and accompanied John to Rodney's location. Once Katel had fallen asleep on the ride back, John had filled her in with the details of the situation and she had seemed eager to go along.

"Finally, what took you so long?" Rodney grumbled, not even looking up from his data pad.

"I am sorry, Rodney. John waited for me. I wished to observe this event, but I had to get Katel settled first," Teyla said patiently.

"Right, right." Rodney replied, grabbing John by the arm and trying to move him closer to the door. John stayed firmly planted where he was, causing Rodney to stumble backwards a bit. "Sorry, Colonel. Did I forget to mention that you're going to have to actually touch the access panel for us to proceed?"

John kept his frustration in check. "I gathered that Rodney. I would, however, like to assess the security implications of this little research project, if you don't mind?"

Rodney took a deep breath and launched into 'explanation mode'… "Okay, about six hours ago, we discovered an unusual energy reading on our sensors. When we tried pinpointing it, it disappeared, only to reappear a few minutes later. It did this several times, until we made a few modifications to the sensors and we were able to secure a better lock on it. Once we were able to hold it steady, we were able to track it to this location. We, of course, brought along an appropriate military contingent," he nodded to Ronon, Major Lorne and two marines. "However, I must stress that nothing we've observed so far with this reading has given us any indication of hostility or threat. Anyway, after trying several different combinations to access the room, we discovered a genetic code buried deep in the programming. On a whim, we ran it through the medical database to determine if we could narrow down who we might be looking for." Finally taking a breath, he finished, "We figured it out alright. It's you, Colonel."

John eyed the door warily. Even with all the surprises the Pegasus Galaxy had dealt him, he still wasn't comfortable facing the unknown. He would much rather know what he was up against. But, it sounded like Rodney and Zelenka, who were both nearly bouncing on their toes with anticipation about the possibilities, had done their research and were reasonably comfortable with proceeding. Ronon and Lorne, plus two marines, along with himself and even Teyla, who didn't do much fighting anymore, but could still kick half the marine's asses, ought to be enough to handle what was inside.

He considered the door, walking over to stand directly in front of it. On the outside, it looked like any other door in Atlantis. However, as he looked closer, he could see ancient text inscribed on the panels. He didn't recall seeing it earlier, and as he looked closer, he could swear it was glowing slightly. A faint, almost silvery light seemed to emanate from the flowing script.

"Any idea what this says?" he asked.

"No. It wasn't there before. It appears to have shown up only when you got closer to the door." Rodney said nervously.

John took a deep breath. Go forward or retreat. There was no other option. And, considering he was not one prone to retreating, he took a deep breath and placed his hand on the access panel. It immediately glowed at his touch. Unbeknownst to him, the remainder of the party took a small step back, as if afraid of what could happen. Ronon, Lorne and the marines, armed their weapons, ready to assist if needed.

The first sensation John had was radiant warmth spreading throughout his body. Along with the physical impression, there was something else….feelings, emotions were rushing through him as well. They traveled so quickly, he almost couldn't grasp them all… eagerness, relief, happiness, a sense of peace, and something else, something so deep, so filling, he felt he might burst with the depth of it.

The door opened. The gasp John uttered, was echoed by the group behind him.

There, in the middle of the room, stood Elizabeth.


	3. Dare To Hope

**CHAPTER THREE – Dare To Hope**

Elizabeth couldn't begin to describe all of the feelings coursing through her. Finally, she was home. It felt like she had been gone for an eternity.

She eagerly searched the faces of her friends, no, her family. They all reflected the same thing – an equal mixture of shock and confusion. All but one of them had taken a step back from her. John was the only one who had moved toward her, disbelief etched in every feature.

How badly she wanted to run to him, to rush into his arms and tell him how much she'd missed him. How much she'd missed them all. How she had been so scared and all alone and how she had thought she would never see any of them again.

But, judging from the tension running through the room, she quickly decided that explanations were in order.

"Hello. I know this must be unsettling to say the least." She rushed on, in a hurry to have them understand. "Who you see before you is me. That is to say" with a small smile and a graceful nod of her head, "the real Elizabeth Weir."

Elizabeth watched John take another step closer to her, swallowing hard. "They told us you were dead" he said in a quiet, strangled voice.

Her heart broke at the pain she witnessed on his face, in his eyes. A sudden movement behind John caught her attention. Both Ronon and Lorne were falling in behind John, warily eyeing her, hands on their weapons.

She had to make them understand. "John, please. Stay where you are for a moment while I explain. You're making Ronon & Lorne nervous."

John shook his head slightly, as if to clear his vision. The small movement was enough to bring him to his senses and he stopped his forward motion. With a quick glance back to Ronon and Lorne, he said quietly, "I vote we give her a chance to explain, okay guys?"

Teyla quickly answered, "Yes, I agree with John." She quietly laid a gentle hand on Ronon's forearm. Ronon looked at her, face impassive, his stance not changing. "Ronon, it is the right thing to do and at the very least, we honor her memory by hearing her story."

Ronon considered her words, took his hand off his weapon and turned his gaze to Elizabeth, content, for the moment, to accept Teyla's suggestion. Lorne had already relaxed his stance and appeared ready to listen.

Elizabeth quickly spoke. "Rodney, I know you and Radek are currently scanning me as well as the room. What do your readings tell you?"

Rodney and Zelenka both jumped, guiltily, at being caught in the act. "I'm sorry. We just couldn't fathom how it could be true. How you could really be here," Rodney said, an apologetic look on his face.

"McKay, what are you saying?"

Rodney looked at John and replied, "She's our Elizabeth."

John let the statement hit him in the gut. He hadn't wanted to believe, refused to believe it was really her. He felt like a bastard thinking it, but a large part of him had died the day he left her on that godforsaken planet and then when he'd found her, learned it wasn't really her, learned that his Elizabeth had died and then watched her clone die to save him again, it was too much. What little part of his spirit that had survived to that point withered away. He'd been a shell ever since, holding it together only because he couldn't abandon his people, his home. He couldn't let Elizabeth's sacrifice be in vain. It was for her that he had continued on. Her and no one else.

"And, on top of that" Rodney continued, "our scans show that nothing in the room poses any threat to us."

John stared at Elizabeth, desperate to go to her, desperate to pull her into his arms and welcome her home. Something in her look held him back. She was radiant and strong and hopeful before him, but her eyes seemed to say, _'Wait, just a little longer.'_

Elizabeth gloried in the hope she saw rekindling in John's eyes, in all of their eyes. "Please, I want to explain how I found my way back to you. How I found my way home. And," and here her eyes dimmed slightly and a shadow passed over her face, "And, why it took me so long." Elizabeth gestured for all of them to come into the room. "There are chairs, please sit."

Rodney, casting a nervous glance at John, said, "Do we need to notify Woolsey?"

"No!" The look on John's face left no doubt that Rodney's question had angered him. John turned and spoke quickly to the two marines at the back of the group. "Peterson and Graves, I want you to remain in the hallway on guard. I want prior notification if anyone approaches this room. And, if you're contacted via radio and asked for a progress update, your response is to state everything appears fine and that you're just trying to stay out of McKay's way."

Curtly nodding to Colonel Sheppard, both marines replied, "Yes sir!" But, before getting into position, both men turned to face Elizabeth. Graves spoke first.

"Ma'am, it is good to see you again."

Peterson quickly followed with, "Yes, ma'am, it is very good to have you home."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears at the marines' words. She had known these two men only very briefly before the failed mission, which had left her stranded on the Replicator home world. They had only been with the expedition six months prior to her capture. Yet, their genuine happiness at her return affected her greatly. Gaining her composure, she replied, "Thank you gentlemen. You have done well to keep the city safe in my absence, I'm sure Colonel Sheppard is proud of your contribution to the expedition."

With swift smiles and nods the two men positioned themselves in the hallway to guard the room.


	4. The Story Begins

**CHAPTER FOUR – The Story Begins**

The rest of the group followed Elizabeth into the mysterious room. The room held several comfortable chairs in a circle and Elizabeth chose one and sat down. John took the chair closest to Elizabeth and, as he waited for the others to get settled, looked around the room in curiosity. They had never found this room on their earlier explorations of the city, but truth be known, they hadn't explored as much of the city as he would have liked. It seemed they had to spend far too much time away from the city trying to defend it, than they did actually exploring it.

As he glanced around the room, his first impression was that it reminded him of a library in some English manor, or what he thought one would look like, since he'd never actually been in one. There were comfortable chairs and various sized tables scattered throughout the room and shelves of books, old texts and artifacts.

Rodney piped up first. "What is this place?" John could hear the excitement in his voice and saw that Rodney hadn't sat down yet, but instead was pouring over the shelves, anxiously taking in all the titles.

Elizabeth smiled. "Rodney, I really have missed your enthusiasm for the 'gifts' of the Ancients, but could we get through the whole 'how in the heck am I here' part first and then you can explore?"

Rodney spun around, a sheepish look on his face and quickly dropped into the nearest chair. "Sorry."

The smile Elizabeth gave him was warm and genuine, "No problem, Rodney. I understand. I was pretty excited myself when I found this place."

Elizabeth sat down next to John, took a deep breath and began.

"After I ordered you to leave me behind, I did what I could to prevent the Replicators from following and retaliating. But, by that point, Oberoth had gained the upper hand and I no longer had control of his actions or of those who followed him. Needless to say, Oberoth was not pleased I was able to assert control for so long." Elizabeth suppressed a small shudder, unwilling to delve into the painful memories of Oberoth's retaliation against her in those early days. She saw John tense and a dark look settle onto his face and knew that now was not the time to go through all that she had endured.

"Luckily, Rodney's adjustment to the Replicator base code took hold quickly and Oberoth's attention was diverted to the war with the Wraith. He, of course, didn't forget me, but at least it gave me some respite from his 'questioning sessions'." John muttered a curse under his breath. Elizabeth was sitting close enough to him to lay a hand gently on his forearm. "John, it's all right. I survived the ordeal and as you can see I am fine."

"You never should have had to survive anything. We should never have tried to upload that code. We should have taken the ZPM, considered ourselves lucky and escaped. I never should have left you behind."

"John, you did the right thing. I ordered you to go. Had you disobeyed that order, not only would I have been captured, so would you, Ronon and Rodney. And, Atlantis would not have survived without that ZPM."

"Dammit, Elizabeth…"

Elizabeth cut him off, her voice gentle, but firm, "John, you and I will have this conversation, but not now. That conversation would be best left until we have a private moment alone, I believe."

John looked at Elizabeth and saw the caring and concerned look in her eye. Despite the fact he desperately wanted to tell the rest of the people in the room to 'clear out', he knew they deserved to know what happened, just as much as he did. He sat back in his chair and nodded.

Elizabeth continued her story. "Oberoth questioned me on several occasions, trying to find out information about Atlantis, about the expedition, about the Ancients, about all of you. It was difficult, but I did find a way to resist him. And, considering he was the most powerful Replicator I had to contend with, any of his followers that were sent to interrogate me didn't have much luck, either." Elizabeth smiled.

"You displayed great strength and courage in the face of a powerful adversary, Elizabeth. You should be proud," Teyla said with conviction.

"I learned that strength and courage from each of the people in this room, Teyla, most especially you."

The two women leaders shared a knowing smile. Elizabeth continued. "Even though I was able to hold out against them and not give them any information, the interrogation sessions weakened me physically, mentally and emotionally. It quickly became clear that my health was suffering and that the nanites Rodney had reprogrammed in me were having a hard time keeping up."

Rodney shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Elizabeth looked at him, her gaze one of concern. "Rodney, it is not your fault. The fact you were able to reprogram the nanites at all and allow me to survive is nothing short of a miracle. I should have died that day." She stopped, swallowing hard; it was still hard to accept how her life had changed so drastically. "But, I didn't," she continued on in a small voice. "Because of you and Dr. Keller, I was able to survive, go on the mission to the Asuran home world and help save Atlantis. Had you not interfered, Atlantis and all of you might not have made it. It was worth the sacrifice."

Now it was Rodney's turn to swallow hard. He knew the sacrifice Elizabeth referred to wasn't only her being captured on the Replicator home world. She was also referring to the sacrifice of her pure humanity that came as the result of his decision to activate the nanites in her system. It may have been Keller's idea, but it was his call to go through with it, against John's wishes. He quickly glanced at John to see if he had picked up on the double meaning of Elizabeth's words, but John's gaze was directed at the floor, his jaw set, and his shoulders tense. Rodney wondered how long it would be before the man literally snapped in half.

Elizabeth continued with her story. "Luckily, I got a reprieve. Oberoth's arrogance and anger had grown so much that he left Asuras to lead the attack fleet against the Wraith. The concept of defeat never entered his mind." Elizabeth shook her head. "With him gone, the daily interrogation sessions stopped. I grew stronger. As my physical strength returned, so did my spirit. I began very quietly and discreetly to seek out replicators who saw things differently than Oberoth."

"Niam's followers?" Teyla asked.

"Yes. Fortunately there were still some there on the home world. Most had been destroyed once Niam's betrayal became known. However, a few were able to conceal their involvement with him and survived. When Oberoth left, we sought each other out."

"Weren't they worried about Oberoth finding out?" Zelenka asked. "I mean, things didn't go so well for Niam when he was discovered."

"Fair point. But, I think they had reached a point of desperation. They despised the path Oberoth was leading them down, but were not strong enough to overthrow his control completely. He had too many followers willing to dispense judgment upon them."

"They saw you as the only person who was a strong enough threat to Oberoth to protect them" Ronon said gruffly.

"I suppose so." Elizabeth was uncomfortable at being labeled a threat, but saw the truth in Ronon's statement. "Funny isn't it? I was so against aggression and negotiation by force when I first came to this galaxy. I guess I've changed since then."

"No, you haven't." John said fiercely. He had finally stopped staring at the floor and was gazing intently at Elizabeth. "You were placed in a position where you had to do things against your nature so you could survive. You took control of Oberoth and forced him to obey your will to give us a chance to escape and save Atlantis. You held out against him and fought him using his methods because it was the only way. That doesn't mean you've changed."

Elizabeth gave a small nod, not wishing to argue the point any further. She was too anxious to finish her story. "Through Niam's followers, I found out about the rebel settlement and the clones. Needless to say, I was less than pleased to hear about their project. However, I could see no easy or appropriate way to end it without destroying the clones." She stopped, swallowed hard, her eyes downcast and said, "I'd lost you once, I couldn't take the action that would cause me to lose you again."

"We met them you know," Rodney said in a small voice.

"I know. The rebels were able to send me a message right before Oberoth destroyed their city. They reported that they had set the clones free and it appeared the clones would be able to escape unharmed. I knew the clones would try to find all of you to warn you about what had happened."

"They told us you were dead." John said bitterly.

"The clones told you what they thought was the truth. I instructed the clone Keller to tell them I had died at Oberoth's hands."

"What?" The look on John's face would have stopped most people in their tracks. All it did to Elizabeth was make her want to explain faster. She had to make him, make all of them understand.

"I knew that without official confirmation of my death, you would never stop trying to rescue me. And, I also knew that the chances of pulling off a successful rescue were non-existent. I could not allow any of you to come to harm or to endanger the Atlantis expedition on a futile, failed rescue attempt. So, I did the only thing I could think of to stop you. It nearly broke me in two to do it, but I had to do it."

The group stared at her in shock. Only Ronon nodded at her and she saw understanding and acceptance in his eyes. She knew he understood. It was a start. The others would need time to accept her decision.


	5. Sacrifice Brings Salvation

CHAPTER FIVE – Sacrifice Brings Salvation

"How did you survive the attack on Asuras? You do know we destroyed them, don't you?" Rodney seemed genuinely confused at this point and Elizabeth wasn't sure if it was solely because he couldn't see how she survived their attack or if was also because he couldn't understand her decision to let them think she was dead.

"Shortly before your attack on Asuras, I managed to escape with what remained of the rebel group and one of the few ships which had not yet been sent out to hunt the wraith."

"Why is it we didn't pick up your ship on the tracking device the 'other us' gave us?"

"Because I reconfigured the ship's signature so that the tracking device wouldn't recognize it." Elizabeth replied a small smile on her face.

"Wow, that's impressive," Rodney replied, shock on his face.

"The nanites, in very limited circumstances, have their advantages." Elizabeth grudgingly admitted.

"What happened when you discovered what we'd done?" Lorne now took up the confused look Rodney had just sported. " Forgive me, ma'am, but I don't understand. With Oberoth and his followers destroyed, why didn't you try to contact us?"

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "I didn't know where to find you. We began searching for a way to contact you, but the Pegasus Galaxy is a big place. We spent many months searching for you. So many times, we came close to finding a trail to lead us to you, but always we were too late. Invariably, we would arrive at a world you had visited, only to discover you had left days before and even hours before in some cases."

"It must have been so frustrating, to be so close and unable to reach us," Teyla said compassionately

"To say the least."

"How were you received by those you visited? Were they not wary, or even afraid of you?" Teyla inquired.

"There were many times we had to leave worlds abruptly. Word of Oberoth's forced devastation on other worlds had traveled far. Other settlements listened when I explained we were different than the others. In truth, had we not been so desperate to find you, had I not been so determined to find a way back, we would have kept our existence hidden from all others. It would have been easier."

"Were you able to avoid the wraith? Or did the altered base code make you seek them out?" Rodney seemed almost afraid to ask the question, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"I was able to alter the program somewhat. It lessened the drive to seek the wraith out, but when we did run into them, we were still driven to destroy them. We encountered many hive ships on our journey. Luckily, in most cases, we were able to defeat the ships we encountered."

"Most?"

Elizabeth gave John a smile and said, "In truth, all but the last three we faced."

"Your one ship took on three hive ships at once?" Now it was Ronon's turn to look surprised. "That's a bold move."

"Yes, but not necessarily a smart one." A shadow of sorrow and pain flitted across Elizabeth's face. "But, we had no choice. Atlantis was at risk."

John looked at her, his gaze hard, "What do you mean Atlantis was at risk?"

"We intercepted a wraith-encrypted communication from the three hive ships moments before we picked their signal up on our tracking system. The three ships had sent the message to another group of hive ships that were much further away. Their message was short – they had discovered the location of Atlantis."

Murmurs of surprise and shock rippled through the room. Elizabeth continued her story. "The message did not give the coordinates of Atlantis, only the coordinates of the three hive ships. Apparently, they wished to rendezvous with the other ships before divulging their important data. Probably because they wanted the full credit for discovering the city's location."

"No wraith ships have traveled to our new location. Why?" Zelenka looked puzzled.

"Because we stopped them. We did the only thing we could. We engaged the three hive ships in battle before the others could arrive. Luckily our prior encounters with the Wraith had taught us the points on their ships, which were most vulnerable. We destroyed the first hive rather quickly, but took serious damage as we destroyed the second ship. By the time it was down to the last hive ship and us, we knew we had no chance to survive the battle. Even with our ability to regenerate our systems, we couldn't retreat to make the necessary repairs. We had to destroy the last ship before the others arrived."

"How in the world did you expect to destroy the last hive ship if your ship was so badly damaged?" John was staring at Elizabeth in wonder, his brain trying to reconcile his vision of Elizabeth as the peaceful negotiator with the battle-wise woman before him.

"We did the only thing we could. We plotted a collision course with the last hive ship."

"You what? Are you crazy?" Rodney looked like his eyes were going to bug out of his head.

"Rodney, we had no choice. The crew was in full agreement. It was our last chance to make whatever amends we could for the atrocities Oberoth and his followers had committed. We braced for impact, and when it came, I found a profound sense of calm come over me. Things began to explode around me, but I felt no fear. It was the strangest experience."

Elizabeth's audience was stunned into silence, shock evident on their faces. No one could speak. After a moment, Elizabeth went on.

"Just when I thought the end was upon me, at the very last moment, my body was bathed in a warm light and I felt myself being pulled from the ship."

"You ascended," Teyla said, smiling brightly.

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes. The Ancients, of course, have been watching events in the Pegasus Galaxy unfold ever since their ascension. As we all know, it is only under rare circumstances that they interfere. My recent _adventure_ caught their attention. Apparently, a few of them felt our efforts to protect Atlantis warranted intervention and chose to allow us to ascend. Janus was our strongest supporter."

"Janus knows how much you've sacrificed, on more than one occasion, for Atlantis. I'm glad he was the one to save you," John said quietly. _'Since it couldn't be me,' _he added in his head. Even though he hadn't spoken the words aloud, he saw the look on Elizabeth's face and knew she'd heard the words anyway. He dropped his gaze, unable to face the sympathy in her eyes. He wasn't ready to be forgiven yet.

"If you're ascended, how come you're here? Don't they normally frown on ascended beings interacting with humans?"

Elizabeth grinned at Rodney's bluntness. Oh how she had missed it, which is something she had never thought would happen. "Well, Rodney, I've lobbied long and hard to be able to return to you all and tell my story. It hasn't been easy. And, obviously, it took me a long time to convince them to allow me to visit."

"Visit? You mean, you can't stay?" John wasn't the only one in the room who looked upset at the prospect of losing her again so quickly. They had all been too caught up in the happiness of her arrival to realize what Elizabeth as an ascended being might mean for her chances of staying in the city.

"It's complicated, John."

John was on the verge of interrupting her when his earpiece crackled to life. He listened intently and then said, "Thanks, Graves. We'll handle it."

John, frowning, addressed the group, "Woolsey is getting impatient. He wants to know why none of us are available and why he doesn't have a status report yet. Look, I'm not ready to share this news with him yet. I need…….WE need more time with Elizabeth first."

Elizabeth started at John's slip, warmth filling her. She had missed him so much. It was hard not to go to him and envelope him in a hug. Her arms ached to hold him and her soul ached to be held.

Rodney interrupted John before he could say anything else. Hopping up, he said, all in a hurry "Leave it to me. I'll take Zelenka and we'll go meet with Woolsey. We'll make up a bunch of techno-babble stuff that'll make his head spin. We ought to be able to keep him occupied for at least two hours, no problem."

Zelenka grinned, "At least."

Lorne followed up with, "And, I'll go out and relieve Graves and Peterson on 'security detail'. That will get them out of any line of questioning. Of course, I'll order them to complete silence on this issue. They won't speak to anyone about what they've seen until we're ready for that. That way, if Woolsey comes to visit, I can head him off at the pass."

"I'll stand guard with you. Woolsey is afraid of me," Ronon grinned, looking extremely happy with having inspired fear in Woolsey.

Teyla chimed in with, "And, I will accompany Rodney and Radek. I think I will be able to distract Mr. Woolsey as well. I can help by including historical references to the Ancients. Some of our Athosian narrative histories are quite, how shall I describe it? Lengthy."

Elizabeth laughed at the mischievous look on Teyla's face. Her heart warmed at how each of her friends jumped at the chance to protect her.

John was the only one who hadn't yet said anything, but by the look on his face, whatever he was about to say was not up for debate. "I'm staying here. There are a few things I need to discuss with Elizabeth."

Teyla came to hug Elizabeth. "Welcome home Elizabeth. We have truly missed your spirit."

Tears came to Elizabeth's eyes as she hugged back. "Thank you Teyla. I'm sorry you've had to take care of the boys all on your own."

Teyla smiled as she released Elizabeth – "They have been good practice. I now have several techniques I will be able to use on Katel when he is older."

"I hope to meet him someday, Teyla."

"You will, Elizabeth. Of that I am certain."

Zelenka and Rodney were hovering behind Teyla, trying not to intrude. Zelenka sniffed loudly and Elizabeth saw him take a handkerchief out to dab at his eyes. He took her hand shyly and said, "I'm glad you're okay Elizabeth."

"Thank you, Radek. I've missed our chess games."

"Me too. Rodney is not as much fun to play with." Zelenka walked off to join Teyla, chuckling to himself.

"Well, you can see that some things haven't changed. I'm still the butt of everyone's joke," Rodney groused loudly as he gave Elizabeth an awkward hug. Before he let her go, he said quietly, so quietly that no one else could hear, "I hope you find a way to come back Elizabeth. Atlantis isn't the same without you."

Elizabeth felt tears sting her eyes again as she let him go. "I'll do my best, Rodney." He nodded and ran off to join Teyla and Zelenka who were already on their way to Woolsey.

Lorne gave Elizabeth a small salute and said, "Ma'am, I'll just say this – yours and Colonel Sheppard's leadership of this expedition made sense. Things don't make much sense anymore. I sure hope the Ancients give some consideration to how well things ran when you were here and let you come back." He walked off, to take up the security detail at the entrance to the room.

Ronon sauntered over to Elizabeth. "I just have two favors to ask."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him, intrigued by the look on his face. "I can't make any promises, Ronon, but go ahead."

With a devilish grin, he said, pointing at Sheppard, "Number one – cheer him up, he's no fun anymore." John shot Ronon a withering look and Ronon just laughed.

Elizabeth choked on a laugh and said, "Number two?"

"When the Ancients let you come back, will you come back somewhere next to me? I hear when you de-ascend, you come back naked." Grinning evilly, he left Elizabeth and John standing there, John shocked and Elizabeth grinning brightly.

And then they were alone. The door shut behind Ronon and it was just John and Elizabeth standing in the middle of the room.

John ran a shaky hand through his unruly hair and started pacing the room. Elizabeth watched him make a couple laps and unable to stand it any longer, reached out to lay a gentle hand on his arm.

"John, stop. You're making me dizzy."

John looked at her and a ghost of the flyboy grin graced his face. "Sorry, nervous habit."

Elizabeth was suddenly hit with a memory from a few years past, when she had thought all hope was lost, thought she had, with that one word, _'go'_ sent John to his death. Smiling at him she said, "Well, I'm home."

She could tell John immediately went back to the same moment. This time, the flyboy smile was back in full force. This time he didn't hesitate. He pulled Elizabeth into a tight hug and whispered into her ear. "Yes, you are."


End file.
